Piston Cup Racing Series
The Piston Cup Racing Series is a racing series championship that has hosted championships for decades, across several generations of racers and champions. The Piston Cup series is known to date back to at least 1951, where the Fabulous Hudson Hornet and others competed in dirt tracks. In modern times, however, racers compete in large stadiums, with carefully maintained race tracks and immense space for spectators. Season history 1951, 1952, and 1953 seasons The 1951, 1952, and 1953 Piston Cup seasons were won by the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, during his prime. Hudson acquired three Piston Cup trophies, despite his philosophy that they are "just empty cups". Hudson achieved thirteen victories in 1951, twenty-seven victories in 1952, and twenty-two victories in 1953.These statistics can be found in descriptions of Hudson's racing history at Cars Land in California. 1954 season Hudson's prime ended when he received serious damage from an accident caused by rival racer Sammy "The Studebaker". His injuries rendered him unable to compete for the rest of the season. While Doc made a healthy recovery, when he returned wishing to race again, he was shunned in favor of newer and younger race cars, leading him to settle as a doctor, a mayor & CEO in the small town of Radiator Springs, and choosing to hide his past. Prior to his accident, the Fabulous Hudson Hornet acquired sixteen victories in 1954. 2005 season The 2005 season saw seven-time Piston Cup champion Strip Weathers, constant runner-up Chick Hicks, and popular new rookie Lightning McQueen as the leading competitors. The final race of the season, called the Dinoco 400, was held at the Motor Speedway of the South. The three leading racers all had a score of 5,013 points, meaning whichever of the three placed first would take home the Piston Cup and the coveted Dinoco sponsorship. Towards the start of the race, a large accident was caused by Chick Hicks with the intention of separating himself from the gaining McQueen. The accident involved every racer except for Weathers, Hicks, Mac iCar, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and McQueen, as the ladder skillfully managed to make his way through the crash without taking any damage. The other racers received damage however, such as Chuck Armstrong, who was taken out of the race by a tow truck. Subsequently, Lightning McQueen arrogantly refused pit stops, which allowed him to gain an entire lap advantage on the other racers, which continued into the final lap of the race. However, as McQueen rounded the final turn, his tires blew out, leaving him crawling to the finish line. The other racers caught up to him, and McQueen, Hicks, and Weathers all crossed the finish line at the same time, making it the first three-way tie in Piston Cup history. A tie-breaker race between the three was set to be held at the Los Angeles International Speedway. However, during Lightning's journey there, he fell out of his trailer and ended up in the small town of Radiator Springs, where he accidentally ripped up the road and was sentenced to community service. Once Lightning served his time, he was taken to the race, where he found it difficult to concentrate due to missing the friends he made while there. However, Lightning was joyful when he discovered that Hudson and the other townspeople had come to serve as his pit crew. Lightning, who had learned new abilities from his friends, utilized them during the race, which allowed him to hold up well against his two competitors, eventually taking the lead. Hicks, frustrated with constantly placing behind Weathers, performed a PIT maneuver on him, causing the seven-time champion to spin out of control and take heavy damage. McQueen, noticing similarities between Weathers' and Hudson's accidents, stopped just before the finish line and reversed up to Weathers, and helped him to the finish line, believing the old-timer should finish his last race. Despite being the victor, Hicks was booed for his actions, while McQueen was congratulated for his good sportsmanship. 2006 season Weathers' retirement saw the rivalry between Lightning McQueen and Chick Hicks grow larger than ever before, with the media putting an emphasis on it. The 2006 season consisted of five races, taking place at five different stadiums; Palm Mile Speedway, Motor Speedway of the South, Sun Valley International Raceway, Smasherville Speedway, and Los Angeles International Speedway. After losing to McQueen in the first three races, Chick hired the Delinquent Road Hazards to steal Lightning's racing gear from Mack's trailer while he was traveling the Interstate. However, McQueen and Sheriff caught them, and they revealed their alliance with Hicks. At Smasherville Speedway, McQueen confronted Hicks, and the two agreed to have a four-race event, with races in Radiator Springs, Tailfin Pass, and Ornament Valley, followed by the final race at the Los Angeles International Speedway. The event was covered by Darrell Cartrip and the Racing Sports Network, and broadcasted live on television. Lightning won the three events in Carburetor County, and proceeded to defeat Hicks and win the Piston Cup trophy at the Los Angeles International Speedway. McQueen placed his trophy next to Doc's three Piston Cups on the windowsill of his clinic. 2007-2011 seasons Between 2009 and 2011, the Piston Cup was renamed the Hudson Hornet Piston Cup, in honor of Doc Hudson, who died of unknown causes before Cars 2. McQueen won the Piston Cup series in 2009 and 2010, with the now-veteran race car picking up his fourth victory in 2011. Immediately following the 2011 season, McQueen was invited to compete in the World Grand Prix. 2017 season The 2017 season marked the debut of several custom-built next-generation race cars, most notably Jackson Storm. During the season, long-time champion Lightning McQueen was consistently losing to Storm and the other rookies, leading fans to question his ability to hold up against the competition. The problems worsened when McQueen was involved in a crash that forced him out of the sport, similarly to what had happened to the racer's mentor, Doc Hudson."Cars 3 "Lightning Strikes" Extended Look" on YouTube Following his accident, McQueen trained with the goal of defeating Storm at the Florida 500, the Cars universe equivalent of the Daytona 500.Sneak peek: 'Cars 3' zooms ahead with new character Cruz Ramirez Other seasons In The World of Cars Online, players could become a Piston Cup champion by competing in a series of races, which were held at Tailgator Speedway, Big Heartland Speedway, Backfire Canyon Speedway, Petroleum City Super Speedway, Motor Speedway of the South, and Los Angeles International Speedway. Races The Piston Cup races are big events sponsored by lots of trademarks and covered by the Racing Sports Network (RSN), which creates live televised broadcasts, in addition to providing other media coverage. Modern races take place at huge racing stadiums, which traditionally have oval-shaped tracks, although the shape may slightly vary from track to track, such as at the Los Angeles International Speedway. A Piston Cup championship consists of various races where the competitors earn points in relation to their placement in the final rankings of the event. At the end of the season, the car with the most points wins the championship, and receives a Piston Cup trophy, as well as sponsorship from Dinoco, a fuel brand closely associated with the Piston Cup series. Races can vary from 7 to 400 laps. Each competitor has a team of pitties, a crew chief and a hauler, which are sponsored, and may help the racer by giving advice via headsets, and by providing fuel and tire changes during pit stops. Speedways List of racers Retired OldRust-eze.png|#01 - Sammy Smelter Mario andretti.png|#11 - Mario Andretti Darrell cartrip.png|#17 - Darrell Cartrip Stu.png|#23 - Sammy "The Studebaker" The king.png|#43 - Strip Weathers FabulousHudsonHornetArtwork.jpg|#51 - Doc Hudson "Fabulous Hudson Hornet" Chick Hicks.png|#86 - Chick Hicks Current Rusty Cornfuel.png|#4 - Rusty Cornfuel JacksonStorm.jpg|#20 - Jackson Storm Aiken Axler.png|#28 - Aiken Axler Chuck Armstrong.png|#33 - Chuck Armstrong McCoy.jpg|#33/#56 - McCoy BanksCarsGame.png|#34/#33 - Banks Dirkson D'Agostino.png|#34 - Dirkson D'Agostino Kevin Racingtire.png|#35 - Kevin Racingtire Eugene Carbureski.png|#36 - Eugene Carbureski Ryan Shields.png|#39 - Ryan Shields Aikens.jpg|#51 - Aikens Ruby Easy Oaks.png|#51 - Ruby Oaks Claude Scruggs.png|#52 - Claude Scruggs Joltsen zoom.png|#52 - Joltsen Clartkson.jpg|#54 - Clarkson Johnny Blamer.png|#54 - Johnny Blamer BrushCurberpromo.png|#56 - Brush Curber DocHudsonCarsVideoGame.jpg|#56/#34 - Buck Billy Oilchanger.png|#58 - Billy Oilchanger Medford.jpg|#58/#63 - Medford James Cleanair.png|#61 - James Cleanair Henderson.png|#63/#58 - Henderson Lee Revkins.png|#63 - Lee Revkins Winford Bradford Rutherford.png|#64 - Winford Bradford Rutherford Zeb.jpg|#64/#74 - Zeb Manny Flywheel.png|#68 - Manny Flywheel Floyd Mulvihill.png|#70 - Floyd Mulvihill Misti Motorkross.png|#73 - Misti Motorkrass Slider Petrolski.png|#74 - Slider Petrolski Turner screenshot.jpg|#74/#79 - Turner Crusty Rotor.png|#76 - Crusty Rotor BashmanCTVG.jpg|#79/#84 - Bashman Haul Inngas.png|#79 - Haul Inngas Sage VanDerSpin.png|#80 - Sage VanDerSpin Darren Leadfoot.png|#82 - Darren Leadfoot Davey Apex.png|#84 - Davey Apex Mac iCar.png|#84 - Mac iCar Riley.png|#84/#64 - Riley Ponchy Wipeout.png|#90 - Ponchy Wipeout Murray Clutchburn.png|#92 - Murray Clutchburn Ernie Gearson.png|#93 - Ernie Gearson Lighting mcqueen.png|#95 - Lightning McQueen Greg Candyman.png|#101 - Greg Candyman LeeJr.png|#101/#117 - Lee Jr. Guenther.png|#117/#101 - Guenther Ralph carlow.png|#117 - Ralph Carlow Kevin Shiftright.png|#121 - Kevin Shiftright Vlcsnap-2013-04-18-11h41m27s20.png|#121/#123 - Masterson Suregrip.png|#123/#121 - Suregrip Todd Marcus.png|#123 - Todd Marcus Cortland.jpg|#191 - Cortland Hollister.png|#282 - Hollister Others *Buck Schooner Trivia *The Piston Cup is based on the real world Winston Cup, awarded to NASCAR champions from 1971 to 2003. In 2004, however, NASCAR severed relations with Winston and the award became the Nextel Cup, quickly changing to the Sprint Cup after Sprint bought out Nextel. Incidentally, the Hudson Hornet competed in the Grand National era of 1950 to 1970. *In real life, contemporary NASCAR vehicles would not be able to compete against vehicles of the Grand National era. This is because modern NASCAR vehicles are spec, racing-built sedans with sophisticated racing technology whereas Grand National era cars are modified production cars. Today's NASCAR sedans would greatly outperform the stock cars of the Grand National era. Also, NASCAR safety technology has dramatically evolved since the Grand National era and thus drivers of such vehicles would be at a greater safety risk than those driving today's NASCAR sedans. Notes and references Category:Events Category:Organizations/Bands/Teams Category:Trademarks Category:Culture Category:Media Category:Companies